Meaningful Pursuit

Read

Ecclesiastes 6:1-2, "I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil."

1 John 2:16-17, "For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever."

Think

"Do what makes you happy." Have you ever taken a moment to think about that phrase? What truly does make you happy? We find enjoyment and pleasure in adrenaline rushes, hobbies, new titles, relationships - things that add to our quality of life. We often blindly chase after these things in hopes of countering feelings of loneliness, depression, or anxiety. Some of the time we find enjoyment and contentment, but that feeling only lasts for a short time and then it's on to chasing the next thing. Where does the ability to enjoy things or find lasting contentment really come from? In the verse above, we discover that God, in fact, grants us the ability to truly enjoy things! That's right. You can have the world – full of any experience or thing you could possibly imagine and still have a problem with experiencing joy. True joy comes from God alone. Living for God means experiencing life through a completely different lens. Here's the key: When we are blessed, we should enjoy those blessings, but we should also share them with others! When our true pursuit becomes glorifying God and allowing Him to bless others through us, we discover real fulfillment. That is what IT is all about.

Act

Discover the joy of being generous with God's blessings. Give an unexpected gift today. It can be a note of appreciation, a gift card, or something more. Be creative. The goal is to bring joy to someone and glorify God in the process!

Pray

Heavenly Father, thank You for the many blessings in my life. Too many times I take for granted the very blessing of life itself. Help me to remember that life is so much more than the pursuit of achievements and possessions, but about glorifying You through it all. In Jesus' name, Amen!